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By Unknown Writer #5

Apr 18, 2001 -- Dinner in Wallingford

One of the joys of writing this column is that it forces me to turn over every rock in my relentless search for the tastiest eateries in Seattle. So it is that I have finally poked my nose into places I have passed, and even noticed, for years, but never actually tried. These are the hidden jewels of Seattle, the restaurants without the glamour or the glory, that have dedicated themselves simply to preparing favorite recipes and pleasing patrons for many moons.

Chile Pepper is just such a restaurant. It resides in one of those three or four old houses sitting in a row just east of Stone Way on the south side of North 45th Street. You know, the one with the bright, cheery sign out front you've passed a hundred times.

Rodolfo Gonzalez opened Chile Pepper 16 years ago in the University District (the restaurant moved to Wallingford in 1993) with a menu built around his mother Catalina's recipes from their Mexican home state of Guanajuato. Many Seattle Mexican restaurants are run by immigrants from Jalisco, to the west, and recipes vary significantly from region to region in Mexico. Also, Mexican restaurants here are often heavily "Americanized." On my first "reconnaissance" visit, Catalina quickly made me little plate to try of three different pork preparations as well as her special red mole sauce. She explained to me that everything was made fresh, and described to me the different peppers used in the different dishes to give them their unique tastes. I recognized her pride and the food's authenticity, and I knew this was a place to which I would return.

When you sit down in Chile Pepper, you feel like a guest in the Gonzalez home, and indeed you are. You are served home-style food by members of the Gonzalez family, in an old house filled with plants and lovely Mexican artwork. It is a friendly, comfortable space.

We sat down to try out the chips and salsa, and immediately we found ourselves grinning. We started dinner off with their Ceviche, made with snapper. If pickled fish is what you need, this is a lovely alternative to Seattle's beloved pickled herring, that's for sure! It sings with the freshness of Mexico. For the main courses, we ordered the Chile Rellenos and the Mole Verde con Puerco. As we finished off the ceviche, we were surprised with cups of soup to accompany our meals. Not something we were used to in a Mexican restaurant. The soup was a delicious, light lentil-onion soup, with a remarkably rich flavor for a relatively thin soup. The Chile Rellenos are made with dried peppers, drawing out an intensely full and sweet flavor from the peppers. It is a wonderful dish. The Mole Verde, one of several port dishes on the menu, is a plate which reminds me of what I found in little restaurants east of Los Angeles years ago. Fortunately Rodolfo was out of flan that evening, as we were blissfully stuffed, and besides, we have an excuse to return very soon!

Chile Pepper, 1427 N 45th, 545-1790.
Open Sunday - Thursday 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., Friday - Saturday 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.

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Mr. Smith	Mar 06, 2004	Seattle
This is a great little place. The Chile Rellenos are incredibly addictive. We are now "tuned" to the rich, slightly bitter flavor of their dark mole. In our last trip to Mexico we were disappointed by every mole we sampled. As soon as we returned to Seattle, we ran to the Chile Pepper and got our "fix".